Jed Stone

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Evil-doer
Full Name	John Edward Stone
Alias	Jed Stone Old Man
Origin	Coronation Street
Occupation	Burglar
Powers / Skills	Carrying out quick get rich schemes
Hobby	Socialising with his friends. Drinking. Winding up Tony Gordon. Smoking.
Goals	Make a lot of money with his criminal activities (failed). Extort money out of Tony Gordon (partially succeeded; nearly led to Jed being killed).
Crimes	Burglary Theft Extortion Blackmail
Type of Villain	Anti-Villainous Thief

Jed Stone is a fictional character and major protagonist of the ITV British soap opera Coronation Street.

In his youth, Jed Stone was a criminal associate of established character Dennis Tanner. It was then Jed attempted to turnover a new leaf and was supportive to his elderly landlady Minnie Caldwell, although his dodgy schemes landed him with a nine-month prison sentence in 1966.

After a 42 year absence, Jed was evicted from his home by villainous businessman Tony Gordon; this in turn led to Jed returning to Coronation Street and lodging with his old friend Emily Bishop. Thereafter Jed embarked on a dangerous conflict with Tony by blackmailing him in retribution for his eviction, which resulted in Tony strangling and nearly killing Jed. Tony forced Jed to leave Weatherfield for good and set him up with a new place of residence in Wigan to keep him out of the way.

He was played by Kenneth Cope.

Biography

Life of crime

Jed Stone was born in Liverpool in 1940. Not much about his early life is known apart from his father being known as "Spider" and also having a young brother named Ronnie. From a young age Jed took part in a life of crime which took him to Weatherfield in Manchester, where he befriended a young Dennis Tanner and tempted the younger man into a life of crime. In early 1960 the pair of them robbed a newsagents although were caught and sent to Strangeways. Dennis was released later in the year and returned to his mother Elsie Tanner on Coronation Street, where Dennis began to turn over a new leaf and go straight. But Jed was still involved in criminal activities when released from prison.

Jed turned up on Coronation Street in April 1961 and wanted to offer Dennis a job involving a dodgy scheme. Dennis didn't want to return to a life of crime and end up back inside although was too scared to defy Jed. Dennis managed to spook Jed away by introducing himself to a policeman boyfriend of his mother Elsie.

Jed returned to the street five months later claiming to be a changed man, and he began dating a local factory worker named Jean Stark. Jed left the area a couple of months later, and returned a year later and began lodging with a woman named Minnie Caldwell. He got a job at the local Mission Hall on the street, although left the street in March 1963.

He returned in January 1966 looking to stick around the area for longer. He fell back into a life of crime when he began to sell stolen items at market stalls and on auctions. Jed's dodgy behavior caught up with him again when he was arrested and sentenced to nine months in prison, much to the devastation of Minnie. When released Jed decided not to return to Coronation Street although kept in contact with Dennis and Minnie for the remainder of their time on the street. Although Jed tried to go straight once again he fell back into crime and began selling dodgy double glazed windows in a scam. In 1974 he was sent to prison once again, where he met another criminal named Eddie Yeats. Eddie would end up becoming a street resident from 1974 to 1983, where he was more successful in living a straight life. Jed eventually stopped his criminal dealings and settled down on a housing estate nearby Coronation Street around the 1970s, although never returned to the street due to Minnie moving away from Weatherfield in 1976.

Feud with Tony Gordon

A 68-year old Jed Stone resurfaced in August 2008 when his crooked landlord Tony Gordon tried to evict him from his home, having successfully evicted the other residents from Jed's neighborhood. Jed was more defiant which began to irritate Tony, who was desperate to tear down the houses in order to build luxury apartments. Jed's old age and failing health got the better of him when he suffered a stroke and was put in the hospital, which allowed Tony to pack up Jed's things and board up the house.

Jed was released from hospital three months later and moved in with his old friend Emily Bishop at her house on Coronation Street. Jed discovered Tony worked at the Underworld clothing factory across the road and began to extort money out of Tony. Jed teamed up with Tony's other enemy Maria Connor, who was (rightfully) convinced Tony had her husband Liam Connor killed. Despite extorting vast amounts of money from Tony Jed was still unsatisfied as he wanted proper security. He confronted Tony on Christmas Eve at the factory and threatened to report him to the police. In anger, Tony strangled Jed rendering him unconscious. Tony hid Jed inside a Christmas hamper and returned the following morning to dispose of the body, although discovered he was alive. Not wanting to finish the job, Tony offered Jed a new flat in Wigan and money to get him started, which Jed agreed to. Tony bundled a tied up Jed into his van and took him to Wigan, warning him never to return to the area again.

A month later Tony brought Jed back to the street when Maria became convinced Tony killed Jed. Jed briefly reunited with his friends and got his pet cat back (who Tony threw out when evicting Jed). Jed was then returned to Wigan in a taxi by Tony, who again warned Jed never to return to the street.

A few days later Jed was visited by Tony's wife Carla Connor, who became suspicious about her husband's behavior and wanted answers. She took Jed out for lunch and became stunned when she noticed scars on Jed's neck, and asked if Tony tried to kill him. This caused a scared Jed to flee, telling Carla to leave him alone. When Tony found out about the meeting he sent his henchman Jimmy Dockerson to threaten Jed outside his house. This caused a stressed out Jed to suffer a heart attack and once again hospitalized.

Gallery

Jed's return in 2008.

Jed gets attacked by Tony after blackmailing him.

Trivia

• Jed Stone was originally brought in for one episode in April 1961, where he was depicted as a shady criminal trying to get Dennis Tanner back into a life of crime. When reintroduced later in the year his behaviour was toned down and Jed was instead depicted as a lovable rogue.
• Cope returned for a longer period from November 1962 to March 1963, and returned in January 1966 due to fan demand. He left the show again in September 1966 after eight months.
• Cope made a surprise return to the show after an absence of 42 years as part of a storyline involving the show's antagonist Tony Gordon. Whilst originally depicted as comic relief during his 1960s appearances, Jed was instead characterised as a bitter drunken blackmailer upon his 2008 return.
  • Cope's 42 year absence from the show was the longest time an actor had been out of the show. This was succeeded when Philip Lowrie returned as Dennis Tanner in 2011 after a 43 year absence (having left back in 1968).
• There were plans for Jed to become the second murder victim of Tony Gordon, although Cope spoke out against the development so the producers altered the story for Jed to survive being strangled by Tony. Jed made his final appearance in February 2009, but despite his major part in Tony's storyline he was not brought back for Tony's downfall storyline near the end of the year.
• Jed's fate following his heart attack has not been disclosed to the viewing audience. Kenneth Cope later passed away in September 2024, aged 93.